Budd Bailey – författare

Barriers have existed to deny people the chance to compete athletically based on their race, ethnic background, or sex. Some athletes, through their courage and class, have broken down the barriers that have afflicted our society, and sometimes affected greater social change. Jackie Robinson fought racism in the army before integrating baseball when it was our national pastime. He endured and excelled through a tumultuous 1947 season and opened the doors to other African-American players at a time when the fight for civil rights was beginning in earnest.

Booker T. Washington was an educated black man who was very influential in the transition in the United States from the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery to the election of President Barack Obama. He believed education was key in helping lift African Americans out of poverty and built the Tuskegee Institute to provide that education.

The first half of the twentieth century was a murderous period as political ideologies grew into wars that killed tens of millions of people. Fear of Communism sparked a hysteria in the United States that led to two red scares and the rise and fall of McCarthyism. This book looks at the events that created credible concerns about Communism and those that allowed baseless allegations to ruin the lives of innocent Americans. A timeline plots the history of anti-Communist feeling in the United States.

People today refer to the Midwestern and prairie states as flyover country. During the Civil War, crossing those areas was the biggest obstacle in uniting the East and West Coasts of our divided nation. An act of Congress in 1862 authorized the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroad companies to build a railroad that would link the coasts. Seven years later, on May 10, 1869, an overwhelmingly immigrant labor force completed the task when a rail line was join in Promontory, Utah. The states had become united at last.

No positional player from Japan had seen success in Major League Baseball until hitting star Ichiro Suzuki arrived in Seattle in 2001. He immediately won the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. During his career he set a record for most hits in a season, won numerous gold glove fielding awards and batting titles, and in 2016 became only the fourth player born outside of the United States to get to three thousand hits. His combined totals from Japan and the majors make Ichiro the most prolific hitter of all time. This biography will inspire your readers.

People today refer to the Midwestern and prairie states as flyover country. During the Civil War, crossing those areas was the biggest obstacle in uniting the East and West Coasts of our divided nation. An act of Congress in 1862 authorized the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroad companies to build a railroad that would link the coasts. Seven years later, on May 10, 1869, an overwhelmingly immigrant labor force completed the task when a rail line was join in Promontory, Utah. The states had become united at last.

Many of the people on the Mayflower left Europe for religious freedom. When the ship landed at Plymouth in the dead of winter, the new colony was endangered. However, many of the Pilgrims survived and the settlement prospered. The writings and other primary sources of the residents of this region take you through the religious divisions and the arrival of immigrants with other agendas that expanded the colony into what eventually became New England.

The formation and dissolution of the Soviet Union impacted the entire world. The Soviet Union was guided by the principles of communism. Conflict emerged between the Soviet Union and capitalist countries, namely, the United States and those in Western Europe. Eventually, the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 as a result of a declaration that recognized the independence of the former Soviet republics. This book examines how the history, geography, and culture of the region impacted the formation and dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The road to civil rights in the United States went down many paths, but one of the most important ones involved schools. For years, African Americans were forced to study in separate, inferior schools, sentencing many of them to a life of poverty without hope of upward mobility. This volume allows readers to examine how that outlook changed in the middle of the twentieth century. Readers will learn why the old system went unchallenged for so long and how the schools in the United States finally opened their doors to all.

Some athletes not only thrill their fans with their skill on the playing field but also inspire their followers by overcoming obstacles along the way. That combination has helped make such people icons in our culture. One of those great icons is baseball''s Mookie Betts. The five-foot-nine Betts always displayed great athletic ability, but many considered him too small to climb up the sports ladder. However, Betts overcame those doubters to become one of his sport''s best players. In 2018, he became the first ever American League player to win baseball''s Most Valuable Player, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, batting title, and World Series title in the same season. This biography tells the exciting story of the Boston Red Sox star, including the victory of his team in the 2018 World Series. This bio features stats, photographs, and the words of teammates, coaches, opponents, and Betts himself.

Rob Ray was known as one of the NHL’s toughest players of the 1990s. During his thirteen seasons with the Buffalo Sabres he twice lead the league in time spent in the penalty box. Ray was known for his jersey-off fighting style, which eventually led to the “Rob Ray Rule” banning that practice. In Rayzor’s Edge, Ray shares many humorous and insightful stories from his Sabres career.